Coordinating Minister Airlangga Calls ASEAN Climate Forum Emphasizing The Importance Of Sustainable Development

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said the ASEAN Climate Forum 2023 supports ASEAN to become an environmentally friendly economic area.

"The ASEAN Climate Forum emphasizes the importance of a sustainable development agenda to facilitate the transformation of the ASEAN region towards an environmentally friendly economy in line with ASEAN's vision in 2045," Airlangga said as quoted by Antara, Saturday, September 2.

Through the ASEAN Climate Forum, strategic ideas and comprehensive thinking are expected regarding emission reduction, affordable energy transitions, decarbonization strategies, and sustainable financing.

Airlangga said Southeast Asia would be affected by climate change and potentially lose about 30 percent of its gross domestic product by 2050 due to rising global temperatures and extreme weather events.

To that end, greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia must be reduced by 10 to 25 percent by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Large and collective action by the government and the business world is needed at this time.

Currently, Airlangga continued, parts of the ASEAN region have committed to achieving the zero emission target. Big push for electric transportation and the use of renewable energy will be very important for the region to fulfill its decarbonization commitment.

ASEAN countries have agreed to develop an electric vehicle ecosystem and become an important part of the world's supply chain with industries playing an important role in this plan.

The development of electric vehicles also plays a major role in environmental sustainability starting from reducing greenhouse emissions, accelerating energy transitions, decarbonizing the land transportation sector to achieving zero emission targets, and increasing energy security in the ASEAN region.

"The adoption of electric vehicles is becoming more important globally because of its superiority in energy diversification and emission reduction. Adoption of electric vehicles can play an important role in the decarbonization agenda to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement," Airlangga explained.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN Summit) Summit approved exploring cooperation and collaboration in the development of the electric vehicle ecosystem.

The collaboration includes improving infrastructure and charging stations, creating a business environment and investment climate to attract investment, including public-private partnerships, optimizing sustainable production and use of materials and resources to achieve higher value than the supply chain of electric vehicles in the region and increasing participation of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).